POLL: Apnea and Blood Pressure

[Muse-Inc]

I'm curious...ya know cats are !

[BeanMeScot]

I didn't and don't have high blood pressure. My BP used to be 120/80 pretty much every time I checked it. Right before I started on CPAP, my doctor noted my BP was higher than normal. My BP is always somewhat high at the doctor's office because I have White Coat Syndrome. So I told her I would check it at home. Low and behold, it was higher. It was in the 130-135/85 range. That isn't high but it is pre-hypertension. I had already been diagnosed with apnea but hadn't gotten my machine at that point. I started CPAP and noticed within a couple of weeks that my BP seemed to be down. I went back to my paperwork to find the exact day I started CPAP and made a note on my BP chart. It was noticeably lower after starting CPAP. Before starting CPAP, I had a hard time getting it below 130. After CPAP, it was in the 120's again.

Lately when I have been checking it, the top number is below 120 and the bottom below 80 so that's better than I have had as long as I have been checking it. The doctor was very pleased when I showed her the latest readings.

[Songbird]

I just made some comments about high BP and other causes in Johnny's "CPAP may not cure daytime sleepiness" thread. I do think that cpap therapy has helped my BP, but it wasn't until I did some other things that it came all the way down to "normal" levels.

Interesting poll. Thanks!!

Marsha

[Ruby Vee]

My blood pressure was diagnosed years before the sleep apnea, but it is improving with CPAP.

With regard to the poster who said his blood pressure in the 135/85 range was "borderline hypertension" -- I hope you investigated having it treated. Diastolic (bottom number) pressures over 80 have been associated with left ventricular hypertrophy and heart failure.

[BlackSpinner]

I was diagnosed years ago but my blood pressure fluctuates and they could never figure out why. I am sure it was the untreated OSA. I have only been on cpap 2 months but it average per day is already lower. I may try going off the diuretics soon.

[Pugsy]

It was 2 years of borderline hypertension and sometimes more than borderline that led me to finally ask my new PCP for BP meds and something to help me sleep better because I was tired all the time. His first question was "Do you snore" followed by a couple of the other standard questions and off to sleep doctor I went. He didn't want to start BP meds till we ruled out sleep apnea as contributing factor.

BP was 172/98 when they unhooked the wires from me the morning after my first sleep study. Bad, bad night. This was April 27. That was a bit higher than what I had been seeing (150/90s). Started on the machine May 23. Haven't missed a night.

Today 122/80 at the doctor's office. No meds ever taken for BP. Not sure which choices in the poll really are the most relevant to me. Doesn't matter. I am thrilled.

[DyannaK]

Last year 7/1/2008 my blood pressure was 165/100. It had been steadily increasing in the few years before that (normally around 140/90) and my Dr said I had to start BP medication.. I started CPAP 1/8/2009, I keep track of my BP at home and I have had a steady decline over the last few months since I started CPAP. My BP on 6/15/2009 was 90/63. My Dr has cut my medication in half and my BP is still staying low, (anywhere from 90/63-103/69) I will be sending my BP readings in to her again in a few weeks to see if she thinks I need any other adjustments. A good portion of my BP decrease may be due to the medication I have been taking for the past year, but I also think it is due to treating my OSA. I know I sure feel better

[mermer40]

I had fairly high BP for years (160/90) but my doc didn't seem too concerned...took Caduet daily and BP was steady. Then my doc retired, the new doc that took over discovered a blood clot in my rt leg on my first visit and pow! 10 days in the hospital. She changed my BP meds and never could get it under control. That was Sept, 2008 and BP runs 203/101 each morning...I take 4 BP pills and it goes down after about 3 hrs sometimes to 118/55 or so...anytime the top number goes below 120 I get woozy. But by the evening it is usually back up to 178/89 or so...more pills, mask..trying to sleep...fitful nights...I have to set my alarm for 3 am and take another BP pill...am really getting tired of this. What kind of Doctor is the best for BP control? This up and down roller coaster is making me very dizzy and worried.

However, I did see on this forum that taking a Claritin before bedtime may help sleep...have done that for the past three night and got OAI of 1.0 and AHI of 2.0 each night...before it has been OAI's of 4.0 to 8.5 and AHI of 6.0 to 9.5. Have been on CPAP since Feb 2009. I search the forum every day for answers and am getting many but also getting more and more questions at the same time. You guys are all great and a real Godsend for me!!

[Thren]

I'm one of those people with obnoxiously normal blood pressure. No real change before or after the intro of the CPAP. I'm a pretty steady 115/75, though it's been known to go down to 103/64. I do get White Coat Syndrome, though- usually around 145/90ish.

[Hose_Head]

I'm curious...ya know cats are !

I was diagnosed with HBP about 5 years ago. 150/85 on average. Started medication at that time and ever since, my BP has averaged 130/80.

I was diagnosed with SA 16 months ago and have been on xpap ever since. There has been no change in my BP in this period.

[Rustyolddude]

I've been treated for high BP for around the past 5 years which started in my late 30's, 10mg of Lisinopril. My new PCP who sent me on the sleep study/apnea quest found it bit odd that the potential for apnea and correlation with my high BP wasn't addressed by my former PCP. While I still have a second study to go through before I receive a diagnosis, I'm really hoping that in the event of a positive diagnosis, that the BP issue will be a benefit of the treatment. One thing's for certain, if I can get some energy and alertness back, I can get back into my weekly workout routine.

[WearyOne]

Unfortunately, my blood pressure has gone UP since starting treatment. I know it has to do with lifestyle and stress, though. I'm on two blood pressure meds and would like to increase them both, but doc at this point is having a wait-and-see thing after increasing only the diuretic. He tried changing the beta blocker to something else (Diovan HCT I think it was), but I ended up in the ER with a bad reaction to it after just taking one dose, so I'm back on the beta blocker and diuretic.

Pam

[Muse-Inc]

...blood pressure has gone UP since starting treatment...

Sorry to hear that Pam, bummer! Read, then print the following study, take it to your doc, and discuss it.
http://eon.businesswire.com/portal/site ... ewsLang=en

If I remember correctly Diovan is a angiotension receptor blocker (similar the one in the study in the link) but I think it also has another drug (2 drugs in 1 pill); it might have been the other drug that caused the reaction. The ARBs -- or at least the one in the study -- appear to help manage the hypertention caused by the oxygen deprivation we experience nightly. That's why tweaking our xPAP treatment so that we no longer have apnea events every night is so important. Worth checking out with your doc.

Good Luck!

[El Pap]

CPAP treatment alone did not make a significant difference in BP, but adding a regular exercise regimen (2 mile brisk walk at least 5 days/week) did. Of course with untreated OSA I'd never have had the energy to exercise, so I suppose treatment had an indirect benefit.

[WearyOne]

...blood pressure has gone UP since starting treatment...

Sorry to hear that Pam, bummer! Read, then print the following study, take it to your doc, and discuss it.
http://eon.businesswire.com/portal/site ... ewsLang=en

If I remember correctly Diovan is a angiotension receptor blocker (similar the one in the study in the link) but I think it also has another drug (2 drugs in 1 pill); it might have been the other drug that caused the reaction. The ARBs -- or at least the one in the study -- appear to help manage the hypertention caused by the oxygen deprivation we experience nightly. That's why tweaking our xPAP treatment so that we no longer have apnea events every night is so important. Worth checking out with your doc.

Good Luck!

Thanks, Muse. The other drug in Diovan HCT is the diuretic I've been taking for a couple of years without incident, so it was the ARB part. My BP shot up and my pulse went up to 150 resting. My apnea/hypopnea nightly average is almost always under 1, and I had a two-night pulse/ox recording about two months ago and that was great. My weight, eating, and lack of exercise are the culprits here!

Pam